Road rage results in shots fired
Cuero man charged and arrested after fleeing scene
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CUERO - Road rage started a disagreement that ended in gunfire Tuesday in Cuero.
Clinton Ray Curtis, 39, escaped injury when shots were fired at him after a verbal altercation that began after two men argued about the right of way on a narrow city street.
"The two men had a problem while driving and exchanged words. They left that area, then met up again later and got into it," Cuero Police Chief Chris Hernandez said.
The shooting took place about 6 p.m. at the corner of Staerker and West End streets, according to a police department news release.
Don Eggins, 59, was arrested on Farm-to-Market Road 766 a short time later after he fled the scene in a pickup. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, tampering with physical evidence and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He remains in DeWitt County jail on $45,000 bail.
"As far as we have been able to determine so far, the two men did not really know each other," Police Lt. Stephen Ellis said.
The road rage incident and the shooting did not occur in the same area, and happened about a few minutes apart, Ellis added. Both men were out of their vehicles when the shots were fired. The shooting occurred near Eggins' home, where Curtis was apparently visiting a friend.
The weapon was not recovered, said Hernandez, who added that at least one shot may have been fired.
Since identifying incidents of road rage as a contributing factor in traffic accidents in the early 2000s, the Texas Department of Public Safety no longer keeps up with that statistic.
"We don't track road rage incidents as a category," said Lisa Block, DPS spokesperson in Austin. "A lot of time people don't want to say they were involved in a road rage incident. It's an under-reported occurrence."
WHAT EXACTLY IS ROAD RAGE?
Road rage is uncontrolled anger that results in violence or threatened violence on the road; it is criminal behavior. Aggressive driving does not rise to the level of criminal behavior. Aggressive driving includes tailgating, abrupt ...
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WHAT EXACTLY IS ROAD RAGE?
Road rage is uncontrolled anger that results in violence or threatened violence on the road; it is criminal behavior. Aggressive driving does not rise to the level of criminal behavior. Aggressive driving includes tailgating, abrupt lane changes, and speeding, alone or in combination. These potentially dangerous behaviors are traffic offenses, but are not criminal behavior.
SOURCE: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety report
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think about it Mr Eggins didnt just pull out his gun in the middle of the streetand open fire on Curtis...Curtis ironically appeared at Eggins home moments later so then shots got fired. I think if someone came to confront me at my residence about an earlier altercation, I would be ready too. Clinton went looking for more trouble, which couldve cost him his life, when he shouldve just kept on driving and forgot about it.
January 22, 2009 at 2:56 p.m.Being a bad driver doesn't give someone the right to shoot at people.
January 22, 2009 at 2:37 p.m.I agree, omniscience.
Even if they knew the rules, laws, and etiquette when they received their DL, they forgot them afterwards, or didn't care about them. Either way, it leads to danger on the roadways.
I have some ideas for a weekly column (concerning driving laws and road conditions) in the Advocate that someone respectable can write, but having a tough time finding someone to follow up on it. I've already contacted the VA, the VPD, and O.C. Garza, but to no avail. Mr. Garza suggested I contact the State Troopers, so I might do that.
Anyway, we can try to drive as safe as we can, but we still need to watch out for those other people!
January 22, 2009 at 9:37 a.m.Why argue the point that it's road rage or not?
I'm more concerned about the shots fired than if the terminology is correct. Why shoot at someone merely for their driving technique, whether they were right or wrong, unless there was more to the situation.
People need to get their head screwed on straight.
January 22, 2009 at 7:25 a.m.Thats road rage? I guess you had to be there, but Im having a hard time calling this one road rage.
January 22, 2009 at 4:59 a.m.